Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 124 - Parent of the Elves (Part 1)
Chapter 124 – Parent of the Elves (Part 1)
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Translated by Pratt
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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On the way north from Fort Hebron, toward the Forest of Thorns.
Elbridge shared stories of his childhood, as well as the old tales of the Goddess and Fort Hebron, with his companions.
Rombel, who had lived through that era himself, and the three elves were lost in old memories.
But Marcus and Sonya were different. When would the two of them have ever heard such stories?
Marcus asked.
“So, Sir Elbridge… the descent of the God of the Flowing Water wasn’t the first time you witnessed a deity descending?”
“Indeed. When the Year-End approached, if we carried out missions in populated areas, the gods would often reveal themselves slightly. As the election drew near, the gods themselves couldn’t help but grow anxious… And it wasn’t the first time for you either, Mr. Marcus. You saw the Goddess in the mountain city.”
“Not just showing themselves. I mean the deity actually wielding their power.”
“Ah. In that sense, it was my second time.”
“So when the God of the Flowing Water descended, even though it wasn’t your first time, you were still that flustered?”
Elbridge nodded.
“When the God of the Flowing Water descended, didn’t you feel it too, Mr. Marcus? That feeling that something was terribly wrong.”
“Uh… Yes, I did.”
“When I first saw the Goddess of the Rusty Shield descend, it was certainly unprecedented and unconventional. However, there was no anxiety that something was wrong. In the south, the Goddess of the Rusty Shield said that what matters is not the manner in which the authority is manifested, but the amount of authority manifested.”
In the past, the authority displayed by the Goddess of the Rusty Shield had been two beams of light striking down from the heavens.
On the other hand, the God of the Flowing Water created massive waves and spray in a place devoid of water, sweeping away thousands of ground boars to stop the stampede.
Since neither Elbridge nor Marcus had ever been a god, they had no way of knowing exactly which deity had consumed more authority.
However, both believed that the God of the Flowing Water must have used far more authority.
Also, the God of the Flowing Water held only a single seat.
On the other hand, the Goddess of the Rusty Shield was once a major deity who held twenty-two seats during her prime. The amount of authority she could use must have differed greatly as well.
Marcus muttered.
“So you’re saying the Goddess of the Rusty Shield only used her authority to the extent that she wouldn’t cross the line, yet she certainly knew how to take credit. Is that it?”
The Goddess’s oracle reached Elbridge’s ears.
– That insolent fellow is disparaging your Goddess. Deities who directly intervene on earth at their own risk are extremely rare, so how could he possibly know where that line is!
The Goddess’s voice carried a clear sense of hurt.
Elbridge immediately offered a prayer to soothe the Goddess of the Rusty Shield.
“Goddess. Please calm down. I do not think like Marcus.”
– Elbridge. At that time, your Goddess intervened on earth with a truly monumental resolution. It was, so to speak, a situation like walking toward a cliff with one’s eyes closed. I walked a little carefully, but the God of the Flowing Water simply resolved to fall and ran at full speed.
Marcus realized that the Goddess of the Rusty Shield was delivering an oracle upon seeing Elbridge muttering a prayer.
If he said something cheeky again, he might get struck by lightning. Marcus slyly changed the subject, emphasizing the Goddess’s devotion.
“Of course! I do not doubt for a moment how much the Goddess of the Rusty Shield treasures you, Sir Elbridge. By the way, Sir Elbridge, what kind of price did the Goddess of the Rusty Shield have to pay back then?”
“All I know is that after that, the Goddess could not grant any oracles or authority for more than a fortnight. There might have been something more that I was unaware of…”
The companions conversed about all sorts of things as they traveled.
And on the third day after leaving Fort Hebron, a peculiar forest appeared before the party.
The elf Selene spoke.
“That’s the Forest of Thorns over there.”
Compared to the south, the trees in the north were relatively short. However, the trees in this forest were taller than even those in the southern Great Forest.
It wasn’t because the tree species was different. It was simply that the trees were very old.
However, the party did not enter the Forest of Thorns right away.
Keeping themselves hidden at a considerable distance from the forest, Selene took out a tiny flute the size of a finger.
Sonya asked Selene.
“Why aren’t we entering the forest?”
“There’s no guarantee that the area around the forest is safe right now. Lately, demons have been appearing near the Forest of Thorns quite frequently.”
“I don’t see anything, though. Can’t we just go in?”
“Just because you can’t see anything doesn’t mean it’s safe. I’ll send a signal, so wait a moment.”
When Selene put the flute to her lips, Johannes and Aurelius covered their ears.
Just how loud would the sound be for them to do that? Elbridge’s companions also covered their ears immediately.
However, no sound came from Selene’s flute.
“What was that?”
“I sent a signal to the forest. Asking them to check if it’s safe.”
“But there was no sound at all?”
Selene smiled with a cat-like expression.
“They said the pitch is too high to be heard by other races’ ears, and it seems to be true… Anyway, there’s no need to worry. The elves in the forest must have heard the flute.”
After a moment, an elf emerged from the forest and waved their arm at the party.
Although they didn’t know the elf’s hand signals, they could roughly guess what it meant.
“They say it’s safe now. Let’s go!”
Elbridge’s party followed the three elves into the Forest of Thorns.
The elf who had signaled stood still, waiting for the party.
And as they drew closer to the forest, Sonya and Marcus grew slightly anxious. Not because of demons, but because of the elves.
Hadn’t Elbridge and Rombel mentioned not long ago? That elves were all a little bit crazy. Indeed, the personalities of Selene, Johannes, and Aurelius had some peculiar aspects.
“You have arrived. Let us go.”
However, when they joined the elf who had sent the signal, Marcus and Sonya were slightly taken aback in a positive way. The appearance and behavior of that elf were exactly what Sonya and Marcus had imagined an elf to be.
An beautiful appearance, though it was hard to tell if they were male or female. A quiet, gentle voice. Calm gestures.
By the time they passed the outskirts and headed toward the center of the forest, Sonya and Marcus’s suspicions deepened further.
Elves could be seen here and there. Every single one of them appeared calm and quiet. Even though four outsiders had suddenly appeared, they only cast brief glances.
Sonya whispered to Selene.
“Um… The elves seem a bit different from what I expected.”
“In what way?”
“I thought all elves had a bubbly side like you guys. But everyone is so quiet, aren’t they?”
Although it was phrased somewhat indirectly, Selene understood what Sonya meant.
“We are reserve Sentinels, so we are a bit unusual.”
“…Do you have to have a strange personality to be selected as a reserve Sentinel?”
Sonya blurted out the harsh words without realizing it.
Fortunately, however, Selene did not misunderstand Sonya’s intention.
“It’s not that, but rather, we work hard to develop this kind of personality after being selected as reserve Sentinels.”
“…Such a personality? Why?”
“It is because of the racial traits of elves and the duties of a Sentinel.”
“Racial traits?”
“Elves are instinctively a race that seeks harmony. We easily assimilate into our surroundings.”
Of course, Elbridge’s companions could not agree with that opinion. The bizarre behavior the elves had exhibited in Fort Hebron and the City of Norens was far from harmony.
Niseras, whom they had met in the south, was no different in having a bizarre personality.
The party’s perception of elves was that they were a race that constantly engaged in eccentric antics and knew no shame.
“Elves who live in the outside world, mingling with humans, are quite lively. But the elves of the forest are different. They assimilate with the quiet forest and become calm.”
Aurelius picked up on Selene’s explanation.
“To put it nicely, it’s calm; to put it harshly, they get buried in their surroundings. Older elves often find their sense of self-awareness fading. It’s like they straddle the boundary between the living and the inanimate… For an ordinary elf, that’s fine. But a Sentinel who has lost their self-awareness cannot fulfill their duties.”
Elves have naturally long lifespans. To the point where it is said they can live for a thousand years if there are no major accidents.
And the three elves who received authority from the Goddess of Thorns—the Sentinels—become even freer from the constraints of lifespan. In particular, it was said that no one knew the ages of the two elves who were the first Sentinels.
“Since we are reserve Sentinels, we must prepare for the long life that a Sentinel must endure. This kind of personality is also part of that preparation.”
“…Is there an advantage to having a strange personality?”
At that question, Selene laughed.
“To avoid assimilating with one’s surroundings and to maintain a clear sense of self-awareness, one needs something that distinguishes them from everything else around them. You could call it a point of differentiation for the independence of one’s existence… By using that point of differentiation as a standard, one can distinguish themselves from the outside and keep their self-awareness vivid.”
“That sounds difficult.”
“You can think of it as creating one’s own rough edges to avoid being swept away by the flow. That’s the very first thing you learn when you become a reserve Sentinel. Being honest about all your desires, revealing yourself without hesitation, and acting self-indulgently. It’s not as easy as it looks. It’s a path that goes against the very nature of our race.”
Although it was quite a deep and serious conversation, Marcus thought it sounded strangely like an excuse.
It wasn’t that my personality was originally terrible, but rather, I had no choice but to act terribly for the sake of the mission and the race. Wasn’t that what they were saying?
Sonya’s gaze turned toward Elbridge and Rombel.
It was because the two of them had given inaccurate information about elves.
“…Mr. Rombel. That’s what they say?”
“I wasn’t lying. In fact, every single elf that either Elbridge or I met had a defect in their personality.”
Selene replied.
“It’s not strange. Since Elbridge and Rombel would have only entered the outskirts of the Forest of Thorns. Those active in that area are mostly reserve Sentinels.”
“Do reserve Sentinels stay in the outskirts of the forest?”
“Normally, we stay around the sacred tree, and when our turn comes, we go out to the outskirts of the forest. Sometimes, like us, we receive outside missions and go outside the forest.”
A faint trace of pride appeared on the faces of the three elves.
It seemed that missions to go outside the forest were rare, even for reserve Sentinels.
“Ahem.” Marcus coughed dryly, cutting in.
“I get it. By the way, there’s something I’d like to ask.”
“I’ll tell you anything, so go ahead.”
“Where are we going right now?”
“We’re going to the sacred tree.”
“…What is the sacred tree?”
“It is a sacred tree located at the very center of the Forest of Thorns. It is a medium for communicating with the Goddess of Thorns, and to some extent, it is also the Goddess of Thorns herself. It is also the place where Sentinels and reserve Sentinels stay. There, can you see it?”
Selene reached out her hand and pointed deep into the forest. Although there were numerous trees in the direction her finger was pointing, Elbridge’s companions could immediately recognize which one was the sacred tree.
It wasn’t particularly larger than the other trees around it. In fact, it was smaller than the other trees.
However, the sacred tree was the only pure white tree existing in the middle of a forest filled with browns and greens.
Pure white leaves, and pure white petals. Whenever the wind blew, the pure white petals fluttered and blanketed the surroundings.
It was a scene so beautiful that it made one doubt whether it was reality.
And by the side of that tree, about twenty elves were gathered.
They must be Sentinels and reserve Sentinels.
Since elves maintain the appearance of their most beautiful and vibrant years for their entire lives, except for a brief childhood and old age, it is not easy to determine who is older just by their looks.
However, distinguishing who was a Sentinel and who was a reserve Sentinel among the nearly twenty elves was not a difficult task.
This was because all the other elves, except for the three companions, were supporting their body weight with the crown of their heads and their feet, all while clasping their hands behind their backs.
“…How impressive.”
Elbridge’s companions discovered the elves planting their heads on the ground in front of the sacred tree.